Marijuana Blog

A dark green bud with hints of purple that is literally frosted with trichomes and crystals. It is an incredibly dense nug with brown stigmas interlaced throughout. The Raspberry Kush experience is a couch-lock, relaxed, and lazy experience. A great smoke for an after-work kick back, or a night cap that will put you soundly to bed.

Edibles are largely popular among the young stoners and those who just aren’t a fan of smoking (or they suffer from an illness that prevents it). While most of these treats are sweet and sugary, like brownies and lollipops, some places have begun to sell other food products containing marijuana. Soda, trail mix, even vodka. While these treats are good, wouldn’t it be even better to learn how to really cook with marijuana? Make full course meals with the plant, leaving your belly full and your mind high?

Munchies, Vice Media’s food channel, recently released it’s first episode of a series that’s called Bong Appetit. The show is something that Vice is hoping will blow up in to the largest network for young people in the world. In this first episode, you mean a 91 year old grandmother who has perfected Italian classic dishes using the wonders of marijuana. “Nonna Marijuana” as she’s known, first emerged on to the YouTube circuit in 2011, working with her daughter, Valerie Corral, the founder of Wo/Men’s Alliance For Medical Marijuana (WAMM).

“I like to cook with medical marijuana because I feel that it helps those who have been ill and had to endure pain, and I will use it if it helps anyone,” Nonna Marijuana told Munchies. While the grandmother doesn’t medicate herself, her daughter uses marijuana to treat grand map seizures, a result of a brutal car accident in the 70s. Even though Nonna Marijuana isn’t eating the marijuana infused meals, she loves to make it for others.

Show producer David Bienenstock, who is based in Santa Cruz, California, says, “We’re moving beyond marijuana as something frightening. A lot of people are curious and food is a great way for people to access the culture. Once they can access it, they start to understand it’s something we shouldn’t be suppressing and should be celebrating.” There is absolutely more to the edible world than treats that may end up giving you a cavity. By creating a homey-feeling show like Munchies, featuring a woman who could virtually be anyone’s grandmother, Munchies will absolutely surpass the negative stigma associated with marijuana.

For most people, getting caught with over a gram of weed is a terrifying thought for those in illegal states and even for some legal ones as well. The idea of getting cuffed and thrown in jail because of a plant is just a nasty idea. But as usual, those that call themselves police officers seem to be above the law. Such as the Richmond K-9 officer Joe Avila who has been on paid administrative leave since September, pending a marijuana possession investigation.

Avila reportedly picked up a box from a UPS store on November 25th, 2013. In the box was four to five pounds of marijuana. Avila, upon obtaining the box, radioed to the dispatcher that he would file an incident report regarding the box. But he never did, according to the search warrant. The box of weed ended up in Avila’s home in Oakley rather than being placed in the evidence locker.

In January, 2014, an officer was assigned to investigate Avila’s neglect on filing more than three dozen reports, including the one for the box of cannabis. As the investigation continued, the officers involved placed Avila on administrative leave. When asked about the box of bud, Avila told investigators that he had used about two pods of it to train his police dog in February 2014. He eventually admitted that there may be more marijuana in the trunk of his patrol car or at his house.

After obtaining a search warrant, the officers searched the home and found more marijuana. According to some sources at the Richmond Police Department, there are strict guidelines in place for officers getting off duty about labeling and storing such evidence. And even though Avila technically stole police evidence and was in possession of a large amount of cannabis, he will likely not be charged with a crime, although his place on the police force remains uncertain.

There are those who hold a medical marijuana card that do not like to be seen using the plant. Whether they think that their job will look down on it or they think their families won’t like it, there are many reasons to keep cannabis smoking a private thing. But for some people in Bangor, Maine, that’s easier said than done. Especially for the doctors, architects, and lawyers who end up smoking uncomfortably in their cars in order to avoid prying eyes. But for those that are around Bangor, the VIP smoking lounge 13 Owls Club will provide an outlet for discreet marijuana smoking.

The club is the idea of Christopher Ruhlin, the owner of Herbal Tea & Tobacco Shop which has recently expanded to include this new VIP club. Renting the space on an hourly rate, Ruhlin hopes to create a space that people will be able to medicate without fear of being thought of as a criminal. “These people depend on a discreet, professional environment,” Ruhlin said. He declined to say how many members have joined so far.

Maine voters passed the medical marijuana law in 1999. When the plant appeared again on the ballot in 2009, the voters wanted to expand the law to include more permitted medical conditions and to allow patients to legally buy from eight nonprofit, government sanctioned clinics and cultivation centers. In 2011, the law was amended again to eliminate patients being required to register with the state. 2013 brought another review of the bill, changing again to allow PTSD, inflammatory bowl disorder, and multiple other disorders that previously hadn’t been considered medical marijuana worthy.

“There are no laws or rules prohibiting qualified patients from gathering in one location to consume medical marijuana other than on a school bus, on the grounds of a school. or in a correctional facility.” Sarah Grant, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a web interview. “Further, smoking marijuana may not occur on public transportation or in a public place. That said, the Department cannot speak to municipal zoning ordinances or other local regulation that may prohibit this activity.” The assistant city solicitor in Bangor, Paul Nicklas, said that the city has local ordinances in places that cover medical marijuana dispensaries and grow operations and they follow the state’s rules on use. “The plant’s use in a private setting is generally allowed,” he said.

Even though naysayers think that the legalization of cannabis will lead to the youth of today constantly lighting up, the statistics prove differently. Using the children is one of the most popular arguments against cannabis legalization but would the plant’s legal status really effect how many kids are smoking? According to the 2014 Monitoring the Future study done by the University of Michigan and the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, not only is child use of marijuana down, but cigarettes and alcohol numbers are down as well.

The survey is conducted annually and consists of 40,000 8th graders, 9th graders, and 12th graders. The survey sticks out for both it’s size and the fact that it was conducted this past spring, right in the middle of a nationwide controversy about drug reform for the midterm elections. According to the data collected, fewer than 15% of 12th graders reported smoking cigarettes at any time in the past month, which is down considerably from over 35% in the later 1990s. The use of alcohol monthly also dropped from almost 55% of 12th graders in ’92 to less than 40% in 2014. Cannabis is also down, even though reports of it’s use among the youth say that the plants use remains flatter than alcohol and cigarettes.

The study’s authors said in a press release, “Both alcohol and cigarettes use in 2014 are at their lowest points since the study began in 1975.” The National Institutes of Drug Abuse agrees, “with marijuana use appearing to level off and rates of many other drugs decreasing, it is possible that prevention efforts are having an effect,” said director Nora Volkow. Findings such as these come as a surprise to some, as Colorado and Washington have implemented retail cannabis systems in their states, followed by Alaska, Oregon, and Washington DC this year. But prohibitionists still think that cannabis reform would “send the wrong message” to young kids.

Andy Harris summed up his mindset recently in a recent appearance at the Heritage Foundation. “Relaxing marijuana laws clearly leads to more teenage drug use. It should be intuitively obvious to everyone that if you legalize marijuana for adults, more children will use marijuana because the message that it’s dangerous will be blunted,” Harris stated. And while his message seems like it carries weight, it doesn’t. The facts clearly show that there aren’t more teens smoking weed and that in the year 2014, where marijuana is basically everywhere, the numbers of teen marijuana use are actually going DOWN.

This past November, Alaska passed a bill legalizing marijuana in the state. But two members of the Assembly decided to try to roadblock the implementation of legal cannabis in Anchorage. After a four hour debate and public testimony on Tuesday night, the measure was killed with a 9-2 vote, with only two people supporting the measure.

Several of the Assembly members expressed their concern that banning the legal marijuana market would disconnect them from the conversations regarding the plant at a state level. “I’m fearful the message on ‘opt out’ will send key legislators in Anchorage to the sidelines,” said Assemblyman Bill Starr. “That will make my work harder.”

Most people who attended the public hearing were opposed to the ordinance. Those who held medical marijuana cards lamented the idea of struggling to get their medicine illegally. Others were concerned with the city finances and that the Assembly shouldn’t avoid new ways of getting revenue in the form of marijuana tax sales. Additionally, some mentioned that they would distrust officials for even considering to circumvent the Alaskan voters’ wishes, a good point as this was what the people wanted to see happen.

Jeff Jessee, someone who worked on the campaign opposing Ballot Measure 2, is worried that there’s too much unknown with the regulations of marijuana that it would make sense to stop it before it gets going. “We need to temper the expectations that it will be open season for this industry in Anchorage.” But clearly, Jessee and the other oppressors don’t see what’s happening in Colorado and Washington. Things aren’t falling apart and the states are raking in money for legal cannabis sales. Washington recently hit the $1 million mark, making them extremely successful with their cannabis model, just like Colorado.

One of the medical marijuana patients who ended up crying at the meeting, June Pittman-Unsworth, said she has no legal options to grow the plant herself… Or even obtain it for that matter, without the help of the shops. “The state failed me… Don’t let the city fail me,” she said. “This ordinance is premature and open-ended. There’s no date on when to comply. I want you to think about that.” Rev. Michael Burke of Common Sense on Marijuana in Alaska, a group of business and faith leaders that want to have a voice in the marijuana regulatory process, also asked the city to hold of on banning the shops. He claimed that the ordinance didn’t pass the “red face” rest and that his worries are that the voters will be extremely cynical of their leaders for pushing this ordinance so soon after the initiative was passed.

As with Washington and Colorado, the newly legal states have a lot of work laid out for them before these legal marijuana markets can be implemented. At least a year will go by before the citizens of these states see any changes. Business models, laws, and regulations must be put in to place responsibly, in order to prevent any further speed bumps. While there have been many victories for cannabis in 2014, there is a long road ahead of us if we want to see full on marijuana legalization.